RACES ALREADY DEVELOP FOR SCHOOL BOARDS, CITY OFFICES

Candidates in several area counties filed for municipal and board of education seats Tuesday, creating at least two races in Scott City and another in Charleston.

Filings opened Tuesday and close Jan. 18 for municipal elections in Jackson, Delta, Oran, Chaffee, Scott City, Charleston, East Prairie, Marble Hill and Perryville.

Filing also began Tuesday for the April 4 school board elections. All area administrative offices will be closed Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and many districts will not open at all while classes are not in session. In most districts, voters will elect candidates to two, three-year terms.

Cape Girardeau

Incumbent David Goncher filed his intent to seek re-election Tuesday morning for the Cape Girardeau Board of Education. Incumbent Dr. Bob Fox has not said whether he will seek re-election.

City Council filings closed in November. Incumbent Jay Purcell filed for the open seat in Ward 3. A race exists in both Wards 4 and 5. Ken Lipps faces challenger Hugh White in Ward 4. Lawrence Godfrey and Matt Hopkins are vying for the seat in Ward 5.

Jackson

Incumbents were the only people who filed for election to the Jackson Board of Aldermen Tuesday on the first day of filing.

Dave Ludwig in Ward 1 will be back to run for his 10th term on the board. He is completing his 18th year on the board, making him its longest-serving official.

Dave Reiminger in Ward 2 is running for his fifth term. He never has been opposed in an election after being appointed to his first term.

No one filed for Larry Cunningham's seat in the third ward. Cunningham missed Monday's regular board meeting due to the flu and did not make it out to City Clerk Mary Lowry's office Tuesday.

Reached by phone, Cunningham said he intends to file and run for another term.

Ludwig, Reiminger and Cunningham ran unopposed in 1998.

In Ward 4, Joe Bob Baker filed for his first election after taking over Fred Leimer's seat earlier this year. Leimer said the heavy demands on an alderman's time led him to resign.

Filing for the April 4 general election continues in Jackson until 5 p.m. Jan. 18.

Several candidates are already vying for seats held by Jack Knowlan and Tom Ludwig on the Jackson Board of Education. Ludwig will seek a second term in office, along with challengers Mark Baker and Dennis Sievers. Knowlan announced during a school board meeting Dec. 21 he would not seek re-election.

Incumbent Dwayne Kirchoff will seek re-election to the Nell Holcomb school board, but incumbent Charlie Roberts has not said whether he will run for another term.

Nell Holcomb patrons also will select a third candidate to fill the seat vacated by Debbie Followell earlier this year.

Scott City

Rodney Holloway and Tim Porch, both of whom currently serve on the city council, filed for mayor. Four other people filed for seats in three wards. No one had yet filed for the open seat in Ward 1.

Glendella May filed for re-election in Ward 2; Charles Klughart Jr. filed for a seat in Ward 4. Joe McDaniel and incumbent Kevin Gresham filed for the seat in Ward 3, also creating a race for office.

No information was available for the Board of Education races in Scott City.

Chaffee

Robert Sullivan filed for the open seat in Ward 2; Jack Nordin filed for the seat in Ward 4. Both men are incumbents.

Chaffee City Clerk Diane Eftink said usually there is a candidate in every ward, but many people wait until after the holidays to file.

Oran

Two candidates filed for office, but only one for a seat on the board of alderman. Four alderman seats are open, as is the city collector.

Jean Neal filed for re-election to a seat on the board. Marcia Roslin, also an incumbent, filed for the city collector position.

No candidates had visited Oran school board offices by Tuesday afternoon.

Marble Hill

Voters will fill two seats currently held by Tom Urhahn and Rosalia Friga.

In Woodland, incumbent Bill Rhodes and challenger Jim Gray both are seeking election to the school board. Incumbent Steve Upchurch has not decided whether he will seek another term.

Information about the municipal election was unavailable for Marble Hill. City officials plan to release the list of candidates today.

Perryville

Four candidates have filed for the five municipal positions up for city elections.

Incumbent Mayor Robert Miget filed on Tuesday, the first day that candidates could file. Along with him, incumbent City Collector Wilma Weinhein, Ward 3 Alderman Paul "Butch" Flentge, and Ward 2 Alderman Frank "Bill" Bergman also filed.

A municipal judge will also be elected.

Jim Martin has been the only person to file for one of three Perryville Board of Education positions. Two, three-year positions currently held by board President Dennis Martin and Tom Wesolek will be decided as well as a special one-year term currently held by Jim Bauwens.

Charleston

Two positions on the city council are open for the April 4 election.

Glennon Johnson will defend his seat against challengers Michael Jones, James Conn and Marshall Currin. Incumbent Brett Matthews will not compete for another term in office.

East Prairie

No one has filed for the three openings on the East Prairie Board of Aldermen. The open seats are currently held by Ward 1 Alderman Gene Ditto, Ward 2 Alderman Harold Lemons, and Ward 3 Alderman Sam Duvall.

Only one candidate has filed so far for the East Prairie Board of Education. Kevin Hess announced his candidacy Tuesday for one of the two, three-year terms currently held by Ricky Penrod and Martin Lucas.

No information was available on board of education filings for Chaffee, Delta, Kelly, Kelso C-7, Leopold and Oak Ridge schools.